Sox rookie Poyner does his part in extras

BOSTON — By his own recollection, Bobby Poyner hadn’t been to Fenway Park more than five or six times before Thursday afternoon.

There was no real reason to think the rookie left-hander would play a starring role in the 107th Red Sox home opener as recently as two weeks ago.

Hanley Ramirez stole most of the headlines thanks to his walkoff single, and David Price’s redemption tour continues after another stint of seven shutout innings. But it was Poyner who claimed the victory in the box score thanks to two scoreless innings of relief in a 3-2, 12-inning thriller against Tampa Bay that unfolded under the chilly afternoon sunshine.

Poyner stranded Joey Wendle at third base after a leadoff single in the top of the 12th, winning his left-left matchup with Kevin Kiermaier thanks to a swinging strikeout. Only the heartiest of the 36,134 on hand remained in the seats as Poyner strode confidently toward the dugout, setting up his teammates with a chance to win it while his parents and a host of other family members looked on.

“Any time you’re at Fenway Park, whether you’re in the stands or wherever, it’s a totally different intensity,” Poyner said. “It was incredible.”

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Poyner caught the eye of manager Alex Cora midway through spring training in Florida, making a lasting impression after allowing, of all things, a home run. Tim Beckham took the 25-year-old deep in a road game at Sarasota’s Smith Stadium, but Poyner responded by retiring Jonathan Schoop with five straight fastballs on his thumbs. The moxie shown by someone who had never thrown a pitch above Double-A Portland to challenge the right-handed hitting Schoop, who smacked 32 home runs last season, had Cora intrigued enough to give Poyner a deeper look.

“He’s a guy that with the fastball, throwing 89, 90 [mph], he can get people out,” Cora said. “The changeup, we’ve been talking to him about using the changeup against lefties. He’s been doing a better job.”

Poyner threw 21 of his 30 pitches for strikes on Thursday, including a pair of changeups while striking out left-hander Brad Miller in the 11th. He adds a curveball and the fastball to what he considers his out pitch and works both the top and bottom of the strike zone with equal effectiveness. Poyner’s 84 strikeouts in 60 innings of work between Class-A Salem and the Sea Dogs last season spoke to his rapid development.

“I really got good at it when I went to Portland,” Poyner said of pitching vertically. “That was really the emphasis — the fastball up and the changeup down.”

Poyner has been something of an underdog ever since his senior year at Florida’s Palm Beach Central High in 2011. He was diagnosed with a small tear in his labrum and shut down in April, missing the next several months after undergoing shoulder surgery. The University of Florida elected to honor Poyner’s signed letter of intent, and he made 74 of his 88 appearances out of the bullpen for the Gators over four seasons of college baseball.

“You definitely kind of question what the rehab process is going to be like,” Poyner said. “Luckily, I was able to rehab well and come back from it.”

Poyner bracketed his time at Florida with College World Series appearances in 2012 and 2015, drafted by the Red Sox in the 14th round after exhausting his eligibility. Two of those summers were spent playing in the amateur Cape Cod League with the Orleans Firebirds, and Poyner made the short drive to Fenway a couple times to take in a ballgame. He was back again on Thursday, this time in the first-base dugout wearing the home team’s splendid white uniform.